A HIGH SENSITIVITY UNCOLLIMATED SPECT SYSTEM

SINGLE PHOTON EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY (SPECT) HAS BECOME AN INDISPENSABLE TOOL IN MEDICAL RESEARCH AND DIAGNOSIS. AN EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM WILL STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF A NOVEL HIGH SENSITIVITY AND HIGH RESOLUTION SPECT INSTRUMENT. THE ENERGY AND SPATIAL RESOLUTIONS OF THE DETECTOR ARE EXPECTED TO BE IMPROVED BY FACTORS OF 6 AND 2, RESPECTIVELY OVER PRESENT SYSTEMS. GOOD ENERGY RESOLUTION WILL SIGNIFICANTLY DISCRIMINATE AGAINST THE SCATTERED PHOTON BACKGROUND.THE HIGH ANGULAR RESOLUTION AND WIDE APERTURE ENABLES DETAILED IMAGING OF THE LARGE ORGANS OF THE HUMAN BODY. THE DETECTOR WILL MEASURE THE INCIDENT PHOTON DIRECTION HENCE ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR A COLLIMATOR. HIGH SENSITIVITY, 100 TIMES GREATER THAN THE CURRENT SPECT SYSTEMS, PERMITS FAST IMAGING AND OPENS THE WAY FOR REAL-TIME METABOLISM VISUALIZATION. THE DETECTOR CAN BE DESIGNED IN THE FORM OF A CURVED SURFACE OR A CYLINDER TO IMAGE WITHOUT ROTATION. THE INSTRUMENT IS EXPECTED TO BE SUBSTANATIALLY SMALLER AND LIGHTER THAN ANGER CAMERA-BASED SYSTEMSAND HAS GOOD POTENTIAL TO BE USED FOR MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS IN THE FIELD. THE FEASIBILITY STUDY INVOLVES MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS, DESIGN, ASSEMBLY AND TESTING OF A SMALL DESKTOP PROTOTYPE. DURING PHASE II A FUNCTINAL PROTOTYPE SPECT INSTRUMENT WILL BE BUILT.